On the night of November 27, Major Manish Pitambare of the 3rd Para regiment was leading an operation to nab Mohammad Ashraf Shah, one of the most wanted terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.

The operation was successful. The commander of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen's south Kashmir division had been shot dead. However, there was also another casualty -- Major Manish Pitambare.

Image: Residents of Thane, Maharashtra, pay their last respects to Major Manish Pitambare. (Inset) Major Manish Pitambare.